C100: C100 or C300?

rgdfilms

rgdfilms

Wet poodle
The age old question that's plagued man for centuries. Can't decide. The C300 is so much dough. I wish it were 10K.
 
You as might as well wait now that CES and Nab around the corner. Rent for now if need be.
 
i would say c100 + CD odyssey monitor, - but again its all depends on what and how u shoot and where u deliver...
 
I went through the same dilemma. In the end I financed a C300. Just hold both in your hand. Once you experience the evf of the C300 there is no going back.
 
I have a C300,C500 and just got the odyssey 7Q . The 7Q is definitely great unit if it were just a monitor with its monitor features it would be worth the price. However, its also a very capable SSD recorder which makes it even more amazing. Out of the box the 7Q records .dpx files which are pretty data heavy and excellent quality, so just be aware that you might need to spend some extra dollars to license a compressed codec for your 7 Q to make the files a bit more edit friendly and less data heavy. The 7 Q is an amazing bit of tech I have to say.
 
Babu said:
You as might as well wait now that CES and Nab around the corner. Rent for now if need be.
Click to expand...
When is this?

Still waiting to get my C300. Ugh...
I have everything for it, but not the camera yet lol

I went this route because the C100 + the recorder is roughly the same price as a C300. Might as well pay a little more and carry less bulk too.
Plus is does have 60fps, in 720p but still better than none.

Used C300 is around 10-11K
 
Having looked at your reel, I would guess the C300. The mxf footage, the better viewfinder, capable of being viewed from almost anywhere, etc. It's my impression that if you are doing the pro level work that your reel suggests, you will pay for it quickly. There's also the option of leasing it. The Canon lease is a pretty good deal, and it saves you having to put that money out now. You can pay for it out of your monthly jobs. That's what I'm doing with the C100. Totally extensible at years end, no depreciation nonsense to worry about. $1 buyout at the end if you want. I love my C100, but would like to have had the C300. My work doesn't justify it. And I have an xf305 to fall back on. Have fun.
 
C100 plus Ninja2 is around 6200. That's half the cost of a C300


People that went C300 over C100... Why?

I'm worried about dropping $14k because I get the feeling they will introduce a 4k model soon just like the Sony F3 to F5.

The C100 seems like you could ROI a bit quicker. Right now I'm looking for something that will be fill the void. I already own an Alexa, 5D and a couple of blackmagics. Not a big fan of the blackmagic and the Alexa is reserved for bigger jobs. I'd like something run and gun that will get me back to the style of shooting I enjoy the most. That's why I've been looking at the C series.
 
Given that info, then yes, the C100 is what you are looking for. The C100 for run and gun is great fun. Takes me back to old school fashion shoots with a Hasselblad, just a professional piece of gear that fits your hand like a glove, and the picture quality is plenty good. With the ninja it's even better. If you have an Alexa and BMCC to fall back on for the higher end footage, then why go the C300 route? And yes, it's much less money.
 
C100 is amazing. Lots of people say bad things about the codec but for most people it's completely fine - especially if your work if for internet usage. It still looks GREAT! If you want to push it further, the Ninja 2 is inexpensive for what it achieves.

The C100 is also very ergonomic. The viewfinder is crap, but aside from that, a superb camera.
 
Be warned - the C100 is a 'gateway drug' to C300 ownership.

I bought my C100 just over a year ago, and within 3 weeks, I was working out which family members to sell in order to fund a C300 for the extra flexibility.

Luckily I'm over that. Happy with my 'one trick pony' C100 for all sorts of reasons. Buyers' Remorse sucks but doesn't last long.

If I had to have only one camera, I'd be tossing up between the C300 and the Sony PMW300 with the wide and 16x. Two very different beasts to be sure, but in this day and age, only having one do-it-all camera is kind of a scary situation!
 
Matt what do you feel like was missing in your C100 that made you want to spring for the 300? The biggest upgrades I've researched are better EVF, 422 internal recording and slowmo at 60p720. But seems like you could shoot on the ninja with the c100, convert 60i to 60p for slow mo and work around the EVF with a modified eyecup or loupe on LCD. I'm just seeing where that extra $7k is going to.
 
You mentioned the headlines, but I'll add these:

I *really* wanted timelapse. When the EX1 came out, it revolutionised my corner of the event industry thanks to easy, sensible access to slow-shutter timelapse. I've been using a DSLR - my 550D - which does sensational timelapses if you're doing raw, or long form, but crucially it can't quite do 1 or 2 sec intervals with half to one second exposures. This is where the sweet spot is for my timelapse needs: crowd movements, rolling clouds, 20-30 mins activities into 2-6 secs, architectural light changes and so on. I don't need much, but I do need an exposure between 1 and 2 seconds, and I need as long a shutter as I can get, and I need at least 2-5 of these per event shoot.

The C300 has timelapse, the C100 does not. Aargh! I have to carry 2 cameras, two tripods, two battery systems - or leave the C100 at home and shoot on EX1.

Here's a silly thing: when I got my EX1s, I got a lot of traction with the Agencies who were employing me over the traditional Z1 owner/shooter. Their perception, rightly or wrongly, was that I was a more serious shooter generating better image quality, who charged more but delivered better results. As the DSLR revolution took hold, I was getting the nod and wink that for what I was doing, they'd prefer to see an EX1 than a DSLR (we're talking the Production Managers, the Technical Directors, etc - they did know what they were talking about).

So, with the C300, there is/was a definite steer that Agencies would be far more comfortable booking a C300 shooter. C100? Hadn't heard of that, wanted to see reel first. C300? Shoo-in. With my editor hat on, I was booked to edit stuff shot on the C300. Not the F3 - a very short stint in the sun - it was all C300. All the DoPs who had played with the 5Ds and 7Ds could buy the body and get going. It was the Camera du Jour (still is), the mark of a 'professional' crew in the clients' eye.

So, if I was faced with a scenario where I'd be working with random agencies who didn't actually know me or my work, I'd have a C300 because it's one less thing for them to worry about. But it's bigger, heavier, I'd be charging a little more or taking a hit on my day rate, and I wouldn't be able to nip outside the venue for GVs and B-Roll because it's obviously a big pro camera. The C100 is diddy enough to be 'a medium format dad-cam' - "oh yes, I'm a very keen video guy, thank you for taking me for a professional!" LOL.

OTOH, I'd love that C300 EVF and panel display as on the C100, they really are that bad. So I reckon the $7k is going on the EVF, the display, the timelapse, the ability to A/B roll your cards, get shot duration display*, just shoot 4:2:2 and be done with it, and all the rest.

Dude, over a working life of, say, 4 years (my EX1s are older than that and still earining), that's $1.75k per year extra - and on, say, 30 working weeks per year for the camera, that's $60 per week. If you select and pack your kit well, factor in some watertight insurance or a side deal with a rental house, you could rent your C300 when it's not working. You certainly wouldn't get rentals from the C100 - it's not worth it for the rental company, and it's not quite in the right league. People who want C100s will buy them. People who want C300s will rent them until they can make the business case to buy one, or simply pick the right camera for the job.

Again, my market makes it difficult to rent because dates are fluid, some jobs are short notice, and I need a camera and edit system in one carry-on (that must never be checked in!). Just that alone tipped my balance to the C100. Your milage will certainly vary.

* This drives me nuts. I'm always being asked by a presenter 'how long was that take?' - I've been using my Pix220 just for the delight of getting a Shot Duration display! This seems to be an issue that's caused by AVCHD - nothing to do with compression or picture quality, just the way it works. I've not seen shot duration display on any AVCHD camcorder.
 
Last edited:
The C100 is a great little camera. Add the Ninja 2 for extra bitrate. However, I sold my Ninja as it wasn't knocking the AVCHD codec out of the park like the specs suggest. For me it added extra weight, an unwieldy cable (hdmi cables are fat and stiff!) and the screen was not great. But, the prores is easy to edit and handles highly detailed shots better. Perhaps the Samauri Blade with its way better screen would be a better buy and still work out less dosh combined with a C100 than the C300.
 
C300 money? F5 with 220mbs onboard and 4k raw out Is a way better camera. Or a used c100 to keep you out of trouble and debt until the next round of launches. C300 seems to me to have no future.
 
the C 300 is still solid as a camera and prices have come down. I know manufacturers are trying to roll out 4k but that will take a bit to gain acceptance since the post workflow hardware needs a real upgrade before people are editing 4k like they edit HD now. I don't think canon's product cycle with the eos cinema cameras is as short as one might fear. I'd say it depends on your market and who you work for, rates, and where you want to take your work. I haven't shot with a C 100, I have a C300 and now a 500 but I am in a the second largest market in the US so rates and general level of work is strong. What I love about the 300 is the high level of flexibility, better codec, the lcd monitor flexibility, wifi control, now that it works, among other things. The C300 is well suited for so many things I do and the C100 would not be even though its a similar camera.
 
Ah, but my dear Mr Morgan-Moore, yes the F5 is a superb camera, but it's a big studly thing that puts you squarely into a whole new camp... Plus if you're mainly Canon-lensed (e.g. ex DSLR), it's a bit of a pain (MTF or Optitek). The power solutions are pretty pricey if you're not into V-Locks already, and there's the OLED viewfinder that costs almost as much as a C100. We could talk media costs, too LOL!

I'm just riffing between C100 & C300 at the moment.
 
Curnsie said:
The C100 is a great little camera. Add the Ninja 2 for extra bitrate. However, I sold my Ninja as it wasn't knocking the AVCHD codec out of the park like the specs suggest. For me it added extra weight, an unwieldy cable (hdmi cables are fat and stiff!) and the screen was not great. But, the prores is easy to edit and handles highly detailed shots better. Perhaps the Samauri Blade with its way better screen would be a better buy and still work out less dosh combined with a C100 than the C300.
Click to expand...

The C100 is indeed a great camera… no regrets at all.

I'm pretty sure I'm the one that bought Drew's Ninja 2, and I've been giving it a lot of use, initially on the 5D3 and more recently on the C100.

In terms of blowing away the internal codec, I'm not sure what people really expected. Huge amounts of more detail? Lower noise? I don't think either were promised, so I think it's more down to buyer assumptions.

I can certainly see the difference on 'some' shots between the internal codec and ProRes HQ, though regular ProRes 422 isn't really much difference at all, and if anything it perhaps a little more noisy in high ISO situations.

The differences are mostly in the gradients of the sky, plain walls and occasionally some skin tones. Is it s a big deal? No, in most cases I could have lived with the internal codec, which on the whole is great.

Where I see the biggest difference is when doing green screen shoots, and for this I'll use the Ninja 2 + ProRes HQ every time where I used to us my XF cameras with their 422 internal codec, like the C300.

BTW Drew, I bought an HDMI cable with the twists on it and now it sits snuggly against the unit - no problem :)

A better view finder would be awesome, the better placement of the LCD would be great, using CF cards with 422 internally would be be very nice too. For me it wasn't an option because the budget didn't run to it, but I'm quite satisfied that the results I'm getting from the C100 are as good as I would have got with the C300, so spending the extra cash for all the nice to have features wouldn't have actually made me take better shots for my clients.

YMMV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top